so with much earnestness of spirit looking up towards Heaven he begged of God that the words of a dying man might make a deep impression upon the hearts of his Hearers And that as God had made him an Instrument of converting many Souls unto him in his Life so he would bless what he had now spoken that some one Soul might be brought to Jesus Christ by this his last Sermon Then he proceeded to further Heavenly discourses and Instructions quoting sundry Texts of Scripture for the proof of what he spake naming the Chapters Verses and words of the Texts which he opened and explained out of the Originals with that acuteness and strength of words with that zeal and fervency of spirit as was admirable so that he drew tears from the eyes of all that were present whether young or old And left any there present should think that his understanding and memory were grown weak oâ— that he was overcome through the abundance of Revelation which he had the night before to let them know that he had spoken to them the words of truth and soberness and that with a perfect understanding of what he spake he made this Narrative following He told them the manner of his education in Religion from his childhood and of the vanity which did attend his youthful daies and where and how God did appear to him for his Conversion at twelve years of his age and of the assurance which God had given him as is before related that he should be an Instrument of converting many Souls to God As also of his proficiency in learning from that very time He farther declared with tears trickling down his cheeks that he had many and many a time A faithfull Pastor in private before he went to Preach put God in mind of that Promise so made unto him and earnestly besought him to make good that Promise by giving a blessing to that Word of his which he was then going to deliver that some Glory might redound to his holy Name thereby To which his Prayers God had often been pleased to give a gracious Answer and to let him know it by the Conversion of some by those Sermons One of his Relations then present fearing that his Spirits would be weakened and spent by that his continued discourse desired him to repose himself for a while To whom he replyed with much earnestness and strength of voice No His Zeal were I sure that this should be my last night as indeed it proved and the last Sermon that I should Preach I would continue it two hours longer Adding that he was not afraid of Death And turning his Head backward he said Death is a Coward he comes behind me His Triumph He dares not look me in the Face And farther he said The Devil hath oft assaulted me in my Life time But God stoâ—d by me and give me strength to resist him so that he could never hurt me All that day following he lay in Heavenly Contemplation and Raptares His Raptures often breaking forth in Praises unto God for Jesus Christ And would sometimes desire his Wife and other Friends to tell him whether he were in the Body or out of the Body for he could not tell And a Minister being the in the House he desired that he might be called in and when he was come he propounded the same Question unto him who answered That he was in Life and among his Friends on Earth and therefore in the Body To this he replyed It is true and therewith rested satisfred and desired the Minister to pray with him which he did accordingly His Wife told him that some Friends present hoped that he might yet live To which he answered Can a Dead man live Will God work Miracles Shortly after he said God is doing great things in the world and he much bewailed the sad condition of the Church of Christ c. In the afternoon The power of Death finding Death to approach he often cryed out O the power of Death Not that he feared it for it shrunk from him but he found such a Power in Death as none could know but those that were under it He wished that his Sons had been present that they might see what the Power of Death was and what it was to die He desired also that some Neighbours of the Town might be called in that he might Preach his last Sermon to them And indeed to this very time his spirits speech and memory continued very active and strong About four a clock in the afternoon his Wife and his Wives Brother and Sister standing by his bedside asked him how he did He answered Very Weak Adding That he was going to Jesus Christ Death not to be feared Bid them not be afraid of Death with which words he put forth his hand and said Brother Sister Take Death by the Hand Be not afraid Death is a coward He flies from 〈◊〉 They found that his Hands were cold and Clammy whereby they perceived that he grew near to his end And himself not long after feeling that the dissolution of this earthly Tabernacle was now approaching lifting up his eyes towards Heaven he cryed out Câ—me Lâ—rd Jesus His blessed Death And presently with a smiling countenance he added Art thou Câ—me And so he breathed out his laâ—â— Thus Reader 〈…〉 through the more considerable passages of this blessed mans Life and Death Pause here a while and take a view 〈◊〉 all again and then surely thou canst nâ—â— but wish though it is desired for thee that it may be from a better Principle than was in Balaam Let me die the Death of this blessed man and let my last end be like his But in vain shak thou wish for this if the pattern of his Holy and Exemplary Life be neglected by thee It is Storied that a person of a loose Life that hearing what a comfortable end St. Bernard made said to his companions I would willingly die like St. Bernard but I would live like you It s too certain that many are of the same mind but as it is impossible but that an holy Life should have a blessed and happy Death Mark the perfect man and behold the Vpright For the end of that man is Peace Psalm 37.37 So it is as impossible in an ordinary way that a loose and wicked Life should have any other than a miserable and uncomfortable Death though some delusive fadeing flashes of seeming comfort they may sometimes have yet are but as a blaze of Thorns that is suddenly extinct For God himself hath said it There is no Peace to the wicked Isa 48.22 And again The wicked are driven away in their wickedness But the Righteous hath Hope in his Death Impius dum spirat sperat Sed Justus cum exspirat sperat The wicked Hope while they live with a vain ungrounded Hope But the Righteous hope when they die with a lively and well-grounded Hope that never
leaves them till it brings them to fruition There yet remain some things which could not well be reduced to any one part of the Narrative of this worthy Persons Life and because they did like so many Golden Threads pass through the whole Web or like the spirits in the blood which run through the whole Body and therefore these were thought sit to be reserved to the close of all that the Reader may have a view of them altogether And they are such Graces as were very remarkable in this Man of God For so I call him noâ— only because he was a Minister and 〈◊〉 Gods Servant in a more 〈…〉 but also in regard of those eminent and excellent Virtues appearing in him by which God did set his Mark 〈◊〉 Seal upon him as his peculiar Treasure And these Graces were so conspicuous in him that all that knew and were acquainted with him will readily attest to the Truth of them And they may be thus ranked in Order 1. His great Humility and meekness of Spirit 2. His diligence and industry in his Calling 3. His Zeal and fervor manifesting it self in his Praying Preaching and Conference and strict observation of the Lâ—â—d Day 4. His Liberality and Bounty upon all good occasions 5. His great Candour and Ingenuity 6. His Faith and Patience First to begin with his Humility 〈…〉 as that excellent Grace which embellished and gave a lustre to all the râ—st and is often inculcated and injoyned in the holy Scriptures and was most admirable in our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who proposes himself as a Pattern to us in that grace especiallyâ— And surely all that knew this worthy Doctor will readily acknowledge this to have been very eminent in him and that not only in his words and Garb and some trivial actions which may easily be personated and counterfeited As they were in the Fryer who went seemingly dejected and alwaies looking down ward to the Earth untill he was made an Abbot and then he altered his Mode and gave this reason for it That he had long been looking for the Keyes of the Abbey and that now having found them he need no longer do according to his former custom But in this person Humility was of an higher strain and more deeply radicated in his heart And truly it was the more admirable in him because he had divers things which might have elevated his thoughts and puffed up his heart with Pride as a plentiful estate a considerable rank in the world and great abilities But these were poor things in his esteem He could condescend to men of the lowest rank He used to magnifie the abilities of others whilst he thought and spake meanly of his own and was not offended if others did the like He could easily bear the Contradictions of others and stoop to the lowest offices to do good to Souls It s well known that he would go to the poorest Neighbours houses in his Parish and there sit and discourse with them about the great and weighty concernments 〈◊〉 their Souls Questioning with them and instructing them And at his departure would give them some money that by his deeds he might add the greater weight to his words His 〈◊〉 and maâ—â— his next return the more welcome And this he did nor to gain Preselytes to himself or a Name among men but to gain them to Christ and to be a means in furthering the Salvation of their Souls Secondly His diligence His Industry and Industry in his Calling was very great and exemplary A hard Student he was and so continued to the last It is scarce credible but to those that saw and knew it what a great number of Books were found in his Library filled with Transcriptions from the Auâ—hours he read besides pieces of Controversie and observations of his own And indeed there were few Books that he read but he drew Notes out of them and made Marks in them of what was most considerable To which if we add all his Manuscripts which had been the summ of near twenty years study lost in the time of the late Wars we cannot but conclude him to have been a most faithful and painful labourer in Gods Vineyard His daily â—ractice declared him to be a person â—areful to Redeem Time and fearfull 〈◊〉 lose or wast it As soon as he was out of his bed in â—he morning whilst he dressed himself His Studiousness his Wife or a Servant read to him some Chapters in course out of the Old and New Testament When he was drest he retired himself into his Study where he ordinarily continued till he was called down to Prayer and Dinner After which for better digestion he intermitted his Studies and took opportunity of discourse with Friends and Neighbours that came to visit him who knew that to be the only time wherein they might find him at leasure For he used to forbid any to come to him in the forenoon that his studies might not be interrupted And after two or three hours intermission he returned into his study again where for the most part His 〈◊〉 he continued both Summer and Winter till about eight a clock at night seldom eating any Supper or very sparingly When he was come down calling his Family together he read a Chapter in course gave the sense of it went to Prayer and so to bed often grudgeing the time that he spent in sleep Time precious and eating To this may be added that as it was his care to be well prepared before he went to Preach for he would not offer either to God or man that which cost him nothing so did he strive to get his heart into a right frame for Preaching that from the heart he might speake to the hearts of his hearers as he used often to say and to obtain assistance from God therein he used by private Prayer to beg Gods blessing upon his labours It was his frequent saying That he was as circumspect and diligent in studying what he was to deliver as if be expected no assistance from Christ yet when be came to Preach disowning his own endeavours he wholly cat himself upon Jesus Christ for strength and assistance as if he had not stuyed at all And that God had oftentimes suggested such matter into his mind in the delivery of his Sermons as he had not thought on before which he observed God did abundantly bless to the Comfort and Edification of the Auditors He would often say That his opâ—ortunities were his Riches and he was â—areful to improve them whence it â—eldome came to pass that he Preached without making some reall impression upon his hearers which was discovered by the Tears that fell from many of them Thirdly His Zeal In the next place his zeal and fervour deserves our consideration It was the Counsel of a grave Divine That Christians should take heed that their old judgements did not abate their youthful affections And
all the claimes that Justice would make and when Satan verily thought he had dispatched him out of the way He being buryed and that as a malefactor so that either he should not rise at all or not in glory and reputation among men now Christ riseth in despight of Hell and the Father gives him glory 2 Pet. 1.17 That our faith and hope may be in God and therefore Christ expresseth a dissatisfaction and discontent at them for their unkindness and unthankfulness as if he had said Time was when you were glad to know any thing that concerned me when you hung upon me and whatever I said to you was a Law and catertained with greediness Why then are ye so backward now Are my merits ere a whit the less Or are you not sensible of your need that you are so slow of heart to believe in me your everlasting Redeemer Now consider what Christ spake to them He speakes to you for all Scripture is writt for our Learning and though Christ will not condemn you yet he may and he doth it seems upbraid you and such upbraidings and frowns of Christ are or should be as much as death yea Hell it self to a believer as Hell was before we believed For the Conscience is mâ—n wounded by way of Gods special love as a Friend than by his hatred as an Enemy If it were possible for a man to be thrown out of Gods armâ— of Love into Hell Hell would be more to him than any other For this made Christs sufferings so great because he was so infinitely beloved of the Father as alwaies lying in his bâ—some Consider what I say as Christ takes it ill that we should question his Love so of all sins he will bear with none less than that of Vnbelief The Disciples had many failings but he upbraids them with no sin so much as Unbelief as being of all sins the most grievouâ— to him therefore as you would make Conscience of any other sin see that you make Conscience of this namely of not believing in the Son of God 1 John 3 23. Consider further why were these doubtings of Thomas and the Disciples â—ecorded but to strengthen our faith they doubted of the Resurrection of Christ that the world might not doubt and t is observable that Thomas doubted more than all the rest therefore he bore a more eminent testimony to Christ than they did crying out My Lord and my God being the first that â—wned Christ as God Go you and do likewise Trust perfectly in the grace of the Lord Jesus and to encourage you remember 1 you have his Word for salvation and that Word to us surer than that voice from Heaven This is my well beloved Son hear Him 2 Pet. 1.19 And the Earth shall sooner reel than the Word and Promise of God fail 2 You have his Covenant the sure mercies of David Jer. 31.3 17. If Heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the Earth searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that which they have done 3 You have the Attributes of God for you the Pillars of Heaven yea the Pillars of God and are not these sufficient to support your soul There is not one Attribute of God against you but all for you yea Justice it self so that you may plead with God not only in point of mercy but of Justice also for Christ hath satisfied for all your sins therefore with reverence be it spoken God cannot in justice require the same debt twice of your Surety and of you also see Rom. 3.2 4 You have this attested by the broad Seal of Heaven namely the Sacrament and Privy Seal of the spirit called the Earnest of the Spirit against that day and then there will be no need of that Earnest when we have the purchased possession but his Earnest shewes you that he is in Earnest not in Jestâ— and Gâ—d will not assuredly lose his Earnest which is pare of the bargain and confirms it to you 5 Consider all the glory of the Father 〈◊〉 upon Christ was that our faith and hope might be in God the Jews slighted Christ 〈◊〉 him but had they seen him in glory they would have believed on him 6 Christ should not discharge his office if he should not reâ—eive such as you and do you think that Christ will be unfaithful to his Father or to poor souls that come unto God by him I tell you the Lord hath made two sorts of Promises 1 of Faith John 6.37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me namely by Faith 2 To Faith as it Follows in the same verse and he that cometh I will in no wise cast out 1 Of the Church 2 Of my heart 3 Of Heaven Therefore make a venture and cast your soul on him who will not sail to keep safely that which is committed to his trust And let me tell you farther we are the Embassadours of Christ to treat with sinners in Christs name upon his own terms and therefore if you come in upon the terms of the Gosspel out of the sense of the poverty of your spirit and close with Christ as seeing an excellency in him above all the world so as to give your self to him and never to part with him I say then that Christ is bound and must of necessity make good what his Embassadours have propounded and concluded in his name in whose name according to the contents of your Letter and the former knowledge I have had of you I do declare as a Minister of Christ that all your sins are forgiven you and therefore I charge you that you rowle your self upon the Lord the burden is too heavy for you to bear but what you cannot bear that rowle upon the Lord and know assuredly though we be unfaithful yet he abideth faithful and cannot deny himself the Promise is made to the truth and not to the degrees of grace Lastly if you persist in unbelief consider how grievous this is to Christ forget not what was said before that Christ upbraided the Disciples and doubtless the anger of Christ was never greater than the offence nor the reproof unsutable unto the fault therefore chide your soul Why dost thou cast down thy self O my soul Why art thou disquieted within me still trust in God who is the help of my faces that is who saves eminently perspicuously so that a man may see Salvation in the face If all that I have said will not prevail know I have your Hand and Seal against you and must needs witness against you in that day but I hope better things of you that the Bowels of Christ will melt you and his arms open'd upon the Cross allure you to run to him who never rejected any that came to him and do you think that you shall be the first As to that Query What is the lowest degree of faith I answer some say the lowest act of faith is to see a possibility of mercy but if I should say so I should exclude many a precious Saint out of Heaven I say then the lowest act of faith is to put a high estimate upon Christ as the chiefest of ten thousand Cant. 5.10 So as to cleave to him and not to part with him for ever though the soul see no probability no not possibility of mercy this is poverty of spirit the lowest round of Jacobs Ladder To make this plainâ— suppose such a Maid hath strong affections to such a Person but he is otherwise inclined yea ingaged so that there is no possibility of obtaining him yet there is true Love The Case suits with many a soul that cannot see any possibility of enjoying Christ yet Loves him dearly could be content to begg with him why here is true Love and therefore faith for faith worketh by Love Wherefore I say look after Christ with a wishly eye with a long look and you shall be saved Isa 45. For the prayers made toward Christ the living Temple are heard as well as the prayers that are made in the Temple though they cannot evidence their union with Christ My Dear Friend I commend these lines to you The Pin of the Dyall points at the hour of the day but cannot tell what a Clock 't is unless the Sun shine unless the Lord shine upon your heart you can see no light of grace or comfort The Lord create the fruit of the lips peace which I begg for you Pray for me still as I desire to do for You Your assured Friend S. W.